Remembering

Three blog posts on a Sunday – highly unusual. I had sneak peeks to get up for the weddings I shot this weekend, but I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge today.

I was eighteen and in 12th grade. Astronomy class. We were watching a movie about Jupiter. I even remember what I was wearing. Our teacher’s mother called to tell her something had happened – our school had phones in the classrooms – and she stopped the movie and we turned on the news. We watched the second plane hit. When the Pentagon was hit, we all went home. Even all those miles away, in a classroom in North Carolina, it felt like the end of the world. I drove home and found my whole family around the TV – nobody seemed surprised to see me home from school early. We watched the news all day, I don’t even remember eating. Sometime that evening I laid down on the floor and put my hands over my eyes – “What is happening to us all? I can’t stand this. I can’t watch this anymore.”

Five years later, I moved to New York City. Something I could never have imagined doing on that day ten years ago. I’ve never been down there in the five years I’ve lived in New York. I’ve avoided it – walking extra blocks, going out of my way to stay away from that area. People would visit us – “Let’s go to Ground Zero.” I shake my head, “I’ll tell you how to get there, but I won’t go.” I don’t know why. I just haven’t wanted to. I can see the new building rising up – 1 World Trade Center – from my roof. And now that the memorial is opening, I will finally go down there one day and see it.

This morning I stepped out on the terrace and listened to the church bells from the church next door to our building. It was the first time I’ve ever heard them ring in the years since we moved into our apartment. The city felt really quiet and still. It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years. It’s just still so vivid in my mind. There is everything before and everything after.

I just wanted to take a small moment to remember and reflect in between all the pretty wedding posts. To acknowledge everyone that lost their lives that day. All our hearts are with their families.